Fairy-Tale Wedding Goes Wrong: Tampa Nuptials End With Grandma In Choke Hold

Forget that the recent wedding reception of Tampa, Fla., couple Tasha Johnson and Markeith Brown was held at a restaurant called the Rusty Pelican -- it was apparently a classy, fairy tale-themed event, complete with a horse and carriage, romantic vows exchanged at an oceanside gazebo and a ballroom reception.

The affair remained classy until around 9 p.m., when Tampa police say Brown began throwing money on the dance floor for children to pick up, which angered one of his guests. When the groom and his brother asked the guest to leave, a fight broke out that escalated and spilled into the parking lot. Cops came -- but it doesn't end there. After guests left, the fight started up again in a hotel parking lot, where the groom's 74-year-old grandmother was put in a choke hold after trying to break up the brawl.

At least one person has been arrested and one was treated in the emergency room as a result of this wedding brawl, but you might be happy to learn that Tasha and Markeith, "the money thrower," are enjoying their honeymoon in the Bahamas right now. They might not be any worse for the wear after their wedding gone wrong, but if you want to avoid making some major mistakes -- as either a bride, a groom or a wedding guest -- pay attention to the following five things you should never do at a wedding.

1) THROWING MONEY AT YOUR GUESTS: It can be a cultural tradition for the bride and groom to do a "money" or "dollar" dance at a wedding, but sprinkling dollar bills on a crowd of people, aka "making it rain," is a totally different story and is never a good idea. Also, as generous as it might be, it's pretty gross to give money to your guests in the same manner that you gave out money to the dancers at your bachelor party.

2) GET BOOZY & BELLIGERENT: If treated responsibly, open bars are nice accents to a fun wedding. If treated irresponsibly, well, see above. There's really no better way to ruin what is supposed to be the best day of two peoples' lives than to get drunk and start throwing blows. On days like these, family ties come undone. The bride will call the police on you.

3) SCREW UP THE TOAST: Write notes. Don't have too many drinks beforehand. Remove all thoughts of his or her exes from your mind. Be discreet. Because if you call the bride by the groom's ex-girlfriend's name or let it slip that she's in her first trimester, she'll never let you come to the house again. Ever.

4) HIT ON SOMEONE INAPPROPRIATE: It should go without saying that the groom's grandmother is off limits, right? It's hard to be single at a wedding, but there's no rule that says you have to find someone to hook up with at every wedding celebration you attend. Relax.

5) BE TACKY: Of course, tacky people don't necessarily know they're tacky. But if you don't do any of the things that this family in the UK did for their 16-year old daughter's wedding last year, then you at least know you won't have the tackiest wedding the world has ever seen.

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Jilted Bride Donates Reception to Seniors

(Nov. 2) - Hundreds of senior citizens outside Chicago got an unexpected Halloween treat Saturday -- a free party sponsored by a jilted bride.

Six days before Teanne Harris was to walk down the aisle, her fiance called off the nuptials.

And when Harris and her mother went to the catering hall to cancel the reception, they were told their deposit was nonrefundable. That's when Harris noticed the Asbury Court Retirement Community across the street.

So instead of letting a Halloween-themed wedding reception go to waste, Harris, 34, decided to move the party to the retirement home.

"I don't think she knew anybody here, and we don't get offers like that. So we were thrilled and so were our residents. It came out of the blue," Mary Eichenfeld, the resident services director of the facility in Des Plaines, Ill., told the New York Daily News.

More than 300 residents of the retirement home attended the party. Video from WBBM, the local CBS-TV station, showed seniors -- some in masks, some in full costumes, including a cowboy and Raggedy Ann -- dancing and enjoying swing music played by a DJ. Flowers and jars of candy decorated the tables.

Harris put on a brave face and attended what should have been her wedding reception but declined to speak to reporters. "She came to the party and while I saw her smiling, I'm sure she was feeling pretty bad," said Eichenfeld.

Harris had her bridal bouquet placed in the retirement home's chapel.

"She's an angel," Eichenfeld told WBBM.

Ana Rojas, a resident of Asbury Court, praised Harris' generous donation.

"This world looks miserable, but there's good people in it," Rojas told WBBM.

Harris' mom, Bari, said she was happy with the heartbreaking situation's outcome.

"Yes, there's mixed emotion," she told WBBM. "It could have been a lot worse, just sitting at home, knowing that nothing was used."

Harris was believed to be headed to Hawaii on Monday and could not be reached. Her former fiance, who is identified on an online wedding registry as Matt Harker, did not return a call from the Daily News for comment.

"That was supposed to be her honeymoon, but she's going alone," Eichenfeld told the Daily News. "I say good for her. I hope she finds a nice guy who deserves her."

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